CBSE Class 10 Social Science Rise of Nationalism in Europe French Revolution, Napoleonic Code and Liberalism Notes Set 07

The utopian vision of nations

In 1848 the French artist Frédéric Sorrieu produced a series of prints showing his dream of a world made up of democratic and social republics, in which peoples of different nations marched in a procession. This vision was utopian, which means idealistic and not yet real. In the foreground of the print lie the shattered remains of the symbols of absolutist institutions, showing that the old order was being swept away.

What is a nation?

The French philosopher Ernest Renan argued in a lecture in 1882 that a nation is not made by a common language, race or religion alone. It rests on shared history, sacrifice, devotion and the willingness of people to live together, in other words a large-scale solidarity. He also said that a nation has no real interest in holding on to a region against its will, and that the existence of nations is a guarantee of liberty, which would be lost if the world had only one law and one master.

The French Revolution and the idea of the nation

Modern nationalism took shape in France after the Revolution of 1789. The revolution transferred sovereignty from the monarch to the French citizens, and the leaders took steps to create a feeling of collective identity.

1. New ideas such as la patrie (the fatherland) and le citoyen (the citizen) were introduced.

2. A new tricolour flag replaced the royal standard.

3. A centralised administrative system made uniform laws for all citizens.

4. Regional dialects were discouraged, and French as spoken and written in Paris became the common national language.

The revolutionaries also declared that it was the mission of the French nation to help other peoples of Europe become nations.

Napoleon and the Civil Code of 1804

Napoleon ended democracy in France by establishing a monarchy, but he kept the revolutionary principle of rational, uniform administration. His Civil Code of 1804, known as the Napoleonic Code, did away with all privileges based on birth, established equality before the law and secured the right to property. In the areas he ruled, he simplified administrative divisions, abolished the feudal system, freed peasants from serfdom and manorial dues, removed guild restrictions, and improved transport and communication. Standardised weights and measures and a common national currency helped traders and businessmen. Yet people in many conquered areas disliked increased taxes, censorship and forced conscription, so the initial welcome faded.

The aristocracy and the new middle class

Socially and politically, a landed aristocracy was the dominant class in Europe. Its members owned estates in the countryside and town houses, spoke French for diplomacy and society, and were closely connected by marriage. This group was small. The majority were peasants, with tenants and small owners in the west and serfs in the east and central Europe.

In western and central Europe, industrialisation led to the growth of towns and new social groups: a working class, and a middle class of industrialists, businessmen and professionals. It was among the educated, liberal middle classes that the idea of national unity became popular.

Liberal nationalism

In the early nineteenth century, nationalism was linked with liberalism, which comes from the Latin word for free. For the new middle classes it meant freedom for the individual and equality of all before the law. Politically it meant government by consent. Yet in France after the revolution the right to vote and to be elected was given only to property-owning men, and women and men without property were excluded.

In the economic sphere, liberalism stood for freedom of markets and the removal of state-imposed restrictions on the movement of goods and capital. The numerous German states had their own currencies, weights and measures, which made trade hard. In 1834 a customs union or Zollverein was formed at the initiative of Prussia. It abolished tariff barriers and reduced the number of currencies from over thirty to two. The creation of a network of railways further increased mobility and strengthened economic nationalism.

Model answer: how did the Napoleonic Code help ordinary people?

It gave equality before the law, removed birth-based privilege, abolished serfdom and feudal dues, and secured property rights. It also gave a uniform system of weights, measures and currency, which made trade easier and helped every section of society.

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